Annette Polis


83 games reviewed
76.7 average score
80 median score
58.0% of games recommended
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Murder on Eridanos is a great finish to one of my favorite Western RPGs in recent years. Interrogating suspects, following clues, and sussing out the twist kept me engaged and entertained. It definitely beats out Peril on Gorgon. I think you'll find this cast of characters much more appealing and the writing worlds above what Gorgon brought to the table. Better writing and better weapons to end with is the soft chocolate peppermint at the end of a delicious meal.

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Sadly, I am not having fun at all with the "Hot Garbage" DLC. I thought returning to my job working for Kindred would be just as much of a trip as the first go-around. But this vacation was a real stinker.

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Nov 3, 2021

My love of Doctor Who could not compel me to play another minute of this game. It feels like an extremely lazy conversion from VR to console game. It's sloppy, frustrating, and for three hours of this mess, not worth the download in its current state.

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It's unfortunate that Koei Temco has no intention of remaking or remastering the Fatal Frame series from the beginning. This slightly upscaled and modified port from Nintendo Wii U to current gen platforms puts forth a subpar experience that doesn't sell me on the series. It seemed to just be the most convenient installment to make available for the 20th anniversary and it shows. If you're like me and Maiden of Black Water is your first Fatal Frame game, I recommend you keep those expectations low.

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I appreciate Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed for spawning a sequel that I fondly remember. I just have an extremely hard time overlooking so many glaring problems that were glossed over to repackage and sell it in this state. Unless you really loved Undead & Undressed or just don't want a hole in your collection, this is one to pick up on sale.

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Sep 1, 2020

I sincerely wanted to enjoy this adventure. Everything I had read about it excited me but here I am, feeling as though I wasted too many hours and grew a dozen new white hairs stressing over a game that was just not ready to be released. From in-game glitches to progression-halting bugs, what little fun there was ended up marred by a game that just didn't feel finished.

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5 / 10.0 - Caravan Stories
Sep 23, 2019

Why spend time in a lackluster world when I have a stack of other wonderful games waiting for me?

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5.5 / 10.0 - Tormented Souls
Aug 27, 2021

I wish Tormented Souls had a story to match the amazing visual work. I get imparting the tale via personal journals but pairing that with characters that pretty much ignore Caroline's direct questions and statements regarding it is just sloppy and uninspired. This could have been a game that left me with my hairs standing on end and delicious goosebumps. Instead, when Caroline's screams persisted through the continue screen and bled into my game it ate away my desire to pick the controller back up. Not enough morphine in the world to make me want to suffer through  this again.

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6 / 10.0 - World's End Club
Jun 19, 2021

I don’t regret the time I put into this game. A lot of it was predictable but entertaining nonetheless. If the puzzle levels were just a little more balanced. Perhaps a tad shorter and with better riddles to solve, maybe tightened up those issues I mentioned, I’d feel more comfortable recommending this.

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6 / 10.0 - Torchlight III
Oct 13, 2020

Deep down, Torchlight III could be a great game. If the developers revamp the map and UI issues I pointed out I'd be over the moon. But in its current state I can't in good conscious tell you to pay full asking price. Hold off until this is either patched or on sale.

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Aug 25, 2020

My three strikes rule had been triggered. It was time to put No Straight Roads aside for something else. It's not a bad game, and if Metronomik updates it to address my concerns I would be glad to get back into the groove of things. The story is engaging and the music sticks in my head for hours but poor controls and bad camera angles have ruined what should be a fantastic game.

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Feb 21, 2019

In a week where I had two puzzle-platformers land in my lap, Degrees of Separations comes out on the bottom. The entire time I was playing it, all I wanted to do was switch back to The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince. Especially once I hit the third world in Degrees of Separation, where puzzle solving was no longer a fun challenge, but a grueling test of my patience. I wanted to love it; the art, the soundtrack, and the story were what had my heart set on enjoying while playing this one. I hate to say it, but I'm not sure if I'll ever attempt to put all the stars back in the sky.

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6.5 / 10.0 - In Sound Mind
Oct 4, 2021

The overall story is fine but lacks that punch to push it over the top. If it were a movie it would sit comfortably with in the B movie section next to Pooka! and The Babadook-which is damn good company, if you ask me. Depending on just how long it takes you to solve the various puzzles, In Sound Mind takes an average of 12-ish hours from start to finish. Not too shabby if you are looking for a game to run over a single weekend. Could be just the thing you want this Halloween.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Monster Harvest
Aug 31, 2021

Perhaps the biggest downside is that, as of right now, Monster Harvest isn't particularly long for a farming sim game. I think I finished it in just over twenty hours or so. To be fair, I was grinding so I could write this review, but by the time I finished the first year in-game, I had already reached my maximum XP cap and unlocked the bunker. In the first week of Year Two I had fully upgraded all of my tools and had enough materials (just short on cash) to finish upgrading all of my farm buildings. In week two I beat the SlimeCo boss. If the developer doesn't have plans to make events a real part of the game or expand the story and dungeons, this unique experience just isn't worth a full price investment.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Disjunction
Jan 28, 2021

If it weren't for these two very major sticking points, Disjunction is a promising experience. As much as I really want to finish out the story and take the third character for a spin, my doctor would have my head for letting a video game raise my blood pressure this high. Here's hoping the developer decides to patch in these oversights for players who want to enjoy games, not torture themselves.

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6.5 / 10.0 - The Inner Friend
May 13, 2020

Even though it was a short game, The Inner Friend lingers in the back of your brain long after you put the controller down. It's an emotional journey exploring childhood fears and trauma, and might just have you pulling out your favorite stuffed animal for a reassuring squeeze.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Moons of Madness
Mar 31, 2020

I'm not one of those people who wants to jet off into space and attempt to colonize or explore another planet. I've seen the Alien movies. Moons of Madness promised a fictitious version of Mars from the comfort of home, with all of the suspense and jump-scares a girl could want, but unfortunately fails to deliver. As much as I wanted this horror fantasy, I can't bring myself to go back to Mars. My patience has worn thin. Every time I hover over the graphic on my PS4 I audibly groan. Perhaps I'll find the energy to return to it at some point, but much like the game itself, I'm not in a rush.

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Mar 2, 2020

All in all, Granblue Fantasy: Versus is a decent fighter whether you play solo or not. My biggest drawbacks are the "story" and the game's eleven-character starting roster. I suppose the plus side of having so few characters means that you'll pick a favorite pretty quick and have time to master their command list. Some of the series' more popular fighters are coming out as DLC relatively soon. Not a great selling point, if you ask me. But with roots in the gacha-game genre, I shouldn't have expected any less.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Shenmue III
Nov 25, 2019

But sentimental value only goes so far. Shenmue III should have been the final game in this trilogy, all loose ends tied up and (re)vengeance served. Instead, Suzuki-sama hopes to continue Ryo's story and with little improvement made over the past two decades and I fear that a fourth game will stick to this same stagnant formula. Disappointed as I am with this news, my real hope is that he can pull off a fourth and final game sooner than later. Because as much as I love this series, I'd be lying if I didn't admit to feeling let down with this revival and worry about ever seeing the end of this tale.

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6.5 / 10.0 - Dragon Star Varnir
Jun 14, 2019

If you love these small, niche JRPGs and can snag a copy of Dragon Star Varnir at a discount, I'd say pick it up. The $60 price point for recycled assets and a game that has more reading than voice over just seems a little too steep for me. But hey, that's just one girl's opinion.

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